Reports confirms Price has waived NMC in huge gamble to save teammate
After reports earlier Saturday that Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price had been asked to waive his no movement clause in order to be exposed in the Seattle Expansion Draft, we now have confirmation that Price has decided to do just that. At the same time, it isn't because Price wants to leave Montreal or because the Habs want him gone.
According to TSN's Pierre LeBrun, Price has decided to leave himself exposed for the draft in order to protect teammate and fellow netminder Jake Allen. If Price's clause remains in tact, the Canadiens have no choice but to expose Allen, and it's almost certain he'll be taken by the Kraken. Allen is a solid backup goaltender who comes with an affordable price tag. For an expansion team, he could also be used in a 1A-1B set up between the pipes. Meanwhile, the hope is the money left on Price's contract will act as a deterrent.
The issue with this is it's a huge gamble. Price's contract is heavy, but just the increase in ticket sales and merchandise that would come with a recognizable name like Carey Price would be considerable. He's an excellent community ambassador for Montreal, and Seattle may even decide to flip him for more picks once they have him, although they have to have his consent for that as his NMC would kick in again after the draft. It's amicable of Price to make the move, but there's no guarantee he won't be selected to move to Seattle. If anything, there's a decent chance Kraken GM Ron Francis pulls the trigger. If that happened, it would be the end of an era in Montreal. Price has been with the Canadiens his entire career, since being drafted 5th overall in 2005. This is bound to put some executives and fans in the edge of their seats come Wednesday when the expansion picks are announced.
As for goalies, various reports have names like Ben Bishop, Jonathan Quick, Chris Driedger, Martin Jones, Tristan Jarry, and the aforementioned Allen being available.
Hearing that Carey Price has waived his no-move for purpose of exposure in the expansion draft so that the Habs could protect Jake Allen in the expansion draft. The thought is that Seattle wouldn't want to pick up the rest of Price's hefty contract. But I guess we will see.— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) July 18, 2021
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Jonatan Berggren | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Alex DeBrincat | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Adam Edstrom | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Kent Johnson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Kirill Marchenko | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Braden Schneider | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Owen Tippett | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Luca Del Bel Belluz | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Adam Fantilli | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Adam Fox | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Morgan Frost | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Jack Johnson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Arthur Kaliyev | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Travis Konecny | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Dylan Larkin | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Ryan Lindgren | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Lucas Raymond | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Moritz Seider | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Reilly Smith | - | 1 | 1 | |
| James Van Riemsdyk | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Capitals | 47 | 32 | 10 | 5 | 69 | |
Jets | 49 | 32 | 14 | 3 | 67 | |
Golden Knights | 47 | 29 | 14 | 4 | 62 | |
Maple Leafs | 49 | 30 | 17 | 2 | 62 | |
Oilers | 47 | 29 | 15 | 3 | 61 | |
Hurricanes | 48 | 29 | 16 | 3 | 61 | |
Wild | 47 | 28 | 15 | 4 | 60 | |
Devils | 50 | 27 | 17 | 6 | 60 | |
Stars | 47 | 29 | 17 | 1 | 59 | |
Panthers | 49 | 28 | 18 | 3 | 59 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||